Pit removing means in drupe pitter



March 11, 1958 J. PERRELLI ETAL 2,826,228

' PIT REMOVING MEANS 1N DRUPE PITTER- f 'Filed June 27, 1955 4sheets-'sheet 1 .Y

4IN VEN TORS JOSEPH PERRELL/ @50H65 E. /f/L NER BV f mmf l Ww Maw( ATTORNEYS March 11, 1958 J. PERRELLI ETAL 2,826,228

lPIT REMQVING MEANS TIN DRUPE -PITTER Filed June .2",v 1955 4Sheets-Shea# 4 'y vllvyzazvroks v .JOSEPH PERRELL/ GEORGE E K/L/VE?ATTORNEYS United States Patent() PIfrffREMovlNG MEANS 1N DRUPE PITTERJoseph Perrelli,'fRichm0nd,-.and George EfKiiner, Oakland,L Calif.,`assignorstoy FilpersCorporation Applieationilnne 27,1955, SerialiNof5185288 8- Claims. (CLJ 146-28) This invention irelates? to drupe y,pitters .fgenerally,and .tparticularlyl-ofrthe type tin which-` the,pit-.ofr-a clingstone Y drape is 1gripped between t the i adjacent iedges of :a ypair to coplanar bladessthattbisectsthe body.` ofthe-.drupelto `--tthedaitfand--thebody halves are thenfseparated fromthe therefrom.andbefore .thepit grippingkmeans" has lbeen :actuatedto-.gripf the pitin another drupe.

. `1A..drupe,-pitternof. the type described isonev in which a wholedrupe is positioned between a pair of pitxgripping membersthatare-adapted toa'moveinto-.rm gripping .relation withthepit so l.astohold the pit while .the

fllrupe halvesaare rotatedKA relative1 `thereto therebytfreeingsuchlfhlves, from the pit.

- .ln .agpi-tter .of the above type. the pit may. clingatofone .aloftthegpit .fgrippi-ngaelements...afteri .the drupe halves havelbeeneparated. fromsthe y.pittandy removed fromV the latter. ThisLcanses-tron-blebecause the @nextdrupe to bepitted rshould ...havevnorobstruction to being positioned between Qthe.r pit-gripping elements.

L The present invention j,provides means for positively dislodging arpit.that would ,otherwise be likely toY cause -diliitillty. by.remainingrbetween-,the pit gripping elements.

` It should `also bef-noted that Mon occasion ...the drupe halvesrriay`adhere totthe sidesfone ofthe bladessupportin'gthe pitgripping means.lThis invention, therefore, rlsdprovidesmeans for. stripping.such-.drupe halves from such blade andk "theu latter .means alsorfunction `as l,an ,lawiiliary pit stripper.

In this connection. it should. .be stated. thatothermeans "heretforeprovidedl'forfthe ,purpose of`the1presentzinven- 'tion are notalwaysffiectivel for :accomplishing Ysaid .purfpose, .Whereas inl the,present .instance Y there can .be no ifailure 'irrespective of. .how.the pit. ymay be carried. by .the pihgrippingameansi to which` it.-.is`adhered.

'"Othenbjects and advantages will-appearrin the.de

scription andinl the drawings.

In the drawings,

,E igul is,an; elevationalview, partlyincross section, ishowingthepresentv invention in full line in oneposition, arid in ,"dotdash"line in another position.

"FigLll is'aysefctional view takenalong line 4-4 of Fig. 2. ig.5',.issa"fragmentary...sectional vview..taken lalong line."5-if5 f'FigZ.

`igj16` isnaperspective view yof the cams thatcontrol fthe motions f`the .pit gripping elements.

*vligsif7i to "13..inclusivey are, reduced sized views illus-',tra'tingfthe. successivef steps in one-complete pitting cycle.

ice

l lthe blades i3, 4,-whichxis;the1left side as seen -in'therdraw- .ings12 and -7.to' 1:3, twhile f theiright hand Vside :is athe rrearzside.

The b1ades:3,.4 andtpit gripping: elements 1,.f2athereon.are.alwayszspacedvaparh and in Fig. 7 they `aregshown in l,drupefreceivingposition f with a drupe i indicated at :6 in

dot-dash lines and? the pit of saidV drupe indicatedfat `7.

oppositev sides-.ofthe flowerblade l4 .and vspaced rear- 7wardly ofblades. g3, =4 sogas 4wnot `to l interfere with theposi-.tioningroffdrupen lon:b1ade4=with thepit 7 substantially against theteeth of pit gripping element 2 Vand the :for- .wardlyfdirected:edge ofmember Sis a `stationary1member, generallyrdesignated- 8.

The-member i8 is formed in =two halves 9, 10y (Fig. 152) 'havingat'opposed sides :that are closely-adjacent toithe outer sides of blade44,-.butsofspacedfrom =saidfsides`as to-clear the gpitygrippingzelement2 upon movement of ,the latterfbetween them, as will.later'beexplainedThe `oppositely outwardlyv facing lsidesof halves 1,9, extendconvergently forwardly to substantiahmeetingirek.lation ywith `the.opposed-liar` sidesof said halves.

movement ofthedrupe along the-lowerfbladeto fagposition with'pit 7 overthezelementiz and-:theiloweringgof :upper blade 3causes1substantially.fcomplete-rbisectiontof the meat of the drupe tothe pit.

The halves of the :drupe t at` oppositesides of the plane ,of blades 3,4,'5v are gripped'bysanyfsuitable; meanstiwhen vthe-pit s held betwenelements f1, 2).,such as'showneand described in U.. S. Patent. No.2,664,127 `issuedftoloseph PerrellirDecember l29, 1953andthe saidhalvesfarefthen vrotated relative to the pin to: free them from the pit'(Figs.

After the halvesaretreezfrom the pit` andare being removed therefrom,preferably by gravity (Fig. `10)fthe upper blade 3 4and element l1.-aremoved-,upwardly ;(Fig.

11'). .ThevweightA` ofthe `drupe halves cansesthe `pit/to leaveelement 1. -The pit willusually falll oif the-element 2lwhen the-upperelement lis moved,upward1y'and aw,ay from thelpit,.but this is notalwaysthe case. Sometimes thezpitlwill bewheldon the. element .2, and when soheld rit willfproject.. laterally'to `one side ,or the other of blade 4vand element 2, orto Abothsides. ,Ifrthe pit-isnotire- `rnoved,.the nextdrupe thatis delivered for :pitting `will rusually be. mutiliated andwill .i fail tobe properly pitted or may not -be pittedfat-all.

To positively insure `against a jpit `adhering tto ,the lower pitgripping element or remaining.betweentsaid elements, thesaidlower-elementissupported for Vmovementrearwardly.. of member Sandbetween the.halves.9, 10 of thestationary member.f8,.and the pit willbei-rst engagedby member 5 and-will-:positively bei dislodged fromelementZ and removed from the `pathof travel ofthe next oncomingl drupe.that-is to be ypittedtl-ig.12),

assegna Although it is highly unlikely that pit 7 will adhere to element2 after this movement, halves 9, 1h of member 8 will further positivelydislodge said pit under such circumstances. Halves 9, 1Q also act todislodge either or both of the drupe halves 6 which might adhere to thesides of blade 4. It is seen, therefore, that member 8 not only acts asa secondary pit stripper in case pit 7 is not dislodged by the primarypit stripper, member 5, but member 8 also acts as a drupe stripper toclean blade 4 of all obstructions to the incoming drupe.

After the pit has been knocked from the lower element 2, said element 2and blade 4 will return to drupe receiving position (Fig. 13)preparatory to receiving another drupe, and the cycle will then berepeated.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, the means for causing the movements abovedescribed comprises a vertical, continuously rotating shaft 12 (Fig. 2),which is adapted to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from above.Secured on the lower end of shaft 12 is a cam assembly generallydesignated 13 (Figs. 2, 6). This cam assembly comprises a drum cam 14providing a passageway 15 (Figs. l, 2) in which is positioned a camfollower 16.

The cam follower 16 is carried on the outer end of the short arm 17 of acrank generally designated 18 (Fig. 2) that is pivoted to a stationarypart of the frame 19 by coaxial pivots 20 (Figs. 2, 4).

This short arm 17 is offset to one side of the plane of blades 2, 4 andis integral with a pair of long arms 21 (Figs. 1, 2) that extenddownwardly past opposite sides of the actuating means for the upperblade 3, which will later be described more in detail.

The lower ends of arms 21 are pivoted at 22 (Figs. 1, 2) to the rear endportion 23a of lower blade 4. A bracket member 23 carries pivot 22 andis bolted to said portion 23a.

Forwardly of the arms 21 are another pair of arms 25 (Figs. 1, 2, 3)that are carried on frame 19 by coaxial pivots 26. These pivots connectthe upper ends of said arms 25 to frame 19 and the lower ends of saidarms are integral and carry a pivot 27 (Fig. 3) that connects said lowerends with blade 4 at a point forwardly of pivot 22.

The arms 25 and arms 21 function as parallel arms for holding the lowerblade 4 and the pit gripping section 2 substantially horizontal duringswinging of the arms rearwardly under the influence of the cam 14 andfollower 16.

It will be seen that upon rotation of the shaft 12 and drum cam 14 thecam follower 16 will move downwardly upon its engagement with the sinecurve of the cam 14 indicated at the left side of the cam in Fig. 2.This curve on the lower side of the drum is indicated at 28 in Fig. 3.Upon follower 16 engaging the sine curve 2S, the rearward and forwardmovement of the blade 4 and the pit gripping element or section 2 isquite rapid.

Rigidly secured to frame 19 by screws or bolts 30 are the halves 9, 10of the stationary element S (Figs. 2, and member 5. Said member 5 issecured between halves 9, by the two top bolts 3) (Figs. 1, 2, 3).

These halves are complementary, having flat opposed sides between thelower ends of which the lower blade 4 and the pit gripping section arereciprocable as blade 4 is reciprocated under the influence of cam 14.The forward edges 31 of the halves 9, 10 extend vertically andpreferably slightly concavely curved linearly thereof with theoppositely outwardly facing sides of said halves extending divergentlyoutwardly from their forward sharpened edges.

In Fig. 1 in dot-dash lines the blade 4 is indicated in its rear mostposition at 33 in which the pit gripping ele ment 2 has substantiallymoved rearwardly past the forward, sharpened edge of member 5 and theforward edges 31 of the halves 9, 19 of stationary member 8. Thus, if apit were on the pit gripping element 2, such pit would be positivelyknocked off the element irrespective of its position on the latter,whether centered on element 2 or projecting from opposite sides ofelement 2, or if any portion of 'such pit were to be on element 2 and toproject to either side of element 2 a sufficient distance to be engagedby one or the other edges 31 of halves 9, 16.

The mounting of the lower pit gripping element 2 and blade 4 to swingpast or relative to a stationary member such as guide 5 and theprovision of such member and the means for swinging the element 2 andblade 4 in a pitting operation, are the main differences between thepresent invention and previous machines.

Carried by pivot 40 is a blade holder 42 (Fig. 2) that comprises a pairof forwardly directed clamping arms between which the upper blade 3 isheld by bolts or screws 43. The upper end of member 5 also extendsbetween said arms (Fig. 4) and is slidable therein. It is noted that theforward edge of member 5 and the rearwardly directed edge of blade 3 areformed arcuately about pivot 40 so that member 5 acts as a guide forboth blade 3 and the arms of holder 42 during the rocking motion ofblade 3 (to be described).

The upper blade holder 42 carries a cam follower 34 that is adapted tobe held against the cuter periphery of a radial cam 35 that, in turn, ispreferably below and integral with the drum cam 14. Thus cam 35 rotateswith shaft 12.

A spring 36 (Fig. 2) reacting between a nut 37 on a rod 38 and a cap 39carried by the stationary frame 19 of the pitter yieldably holds the camfollower 34 against cam 35.

The end of rod 38 that is adjacent to nut 37 is pivotally connected withthe blade holder 42 at 41 (Fig. 2). This rod 38 is adapted to rocksufficiently to accommodate itself to the arcuate motion of pivot 41.

The peripheral contour of cam 35 is such that the blade holder is swungcounterclockwise (looking at Fig. 2) to carry blade 3 and the pitgripping element 1 thereon from the full line position of Fig. 2 to thefull line position of Fig. l (Figs. 7, 8) when cam follower 16 is in thestraight track in the drum cam, and this position of cam follower 16remains the same when cam 35 functions to start moving the upper bladeand the pit gripping element back to the position shown in Fig. 2 (Fig.11) after the halves have been twisted from the pit. However, when thepit is free from the halves and when the pit gripping element 1 movesout of engagement with the pit, the follower 16 will engage the sinecurve 28 of the drum cam and the lower blade and pit gripping element 2will quickly be moved rearwardly relative to the stationary pit removingmember 5 to positively knock or dislodge the pit from the element 2. Assoon as the last named element is moved back to the full line positionof Fig. 2 (Fig. 13) it is ready for another drupe to be positioned onsaid lower blade and on the element 2 for pitting.

It is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited bythe example given herein, but only by the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit gripping elements, means supportingsaid elements for relative movement vertically from a pit grippingposition for gripping a pit therebetween to a pit releasing position outof said gripping relation to such pit and vice versa, a member adjacentto said pit gripping elements, means for-effecting said relativemovement between said pit gripping elements, means mounting one of saidelements for horizontal movement past said member and close to thelatter for engagement by said member with a pit that may be carried bysaid one of said elements after such pit has been gripped between saidelements, and only when said elements are in said pit releasingposition, a frame on which said elements are supported for said relativevertical movement with said one of said elements below the aaaaaasother, said member bemgfirigid with said frame, meansVone'ctedi'withsaidf one of said L'lements'*fdr-isomoving ithorizontally.

-tween elements when the latter are nearest jtoleach `other-and forreleasing such pit from..gripping-relation of said elements when upperpit gripping element moves away from said lower pit gripping element,means for so moving said upper pit gripping element, means supportingsaid lower pit gripping element for generally horizontal movementrelative to said upper pit gripping element, means for so moving saidlower pit gripping element, and a stationary member above said lower pitgripping member positioned to engage a pit that may be carried by saidlower pit gripping member during said movement of the latter, said meansfor moving said lower pit gripping member being operative when saidupper pit gripping member is moved upwardly therefrom.

3. In a drupe pitter, a shaft supported for rotation, a first cam and asecond cam secured on said shaft for rotation therewith, a first camfollower and a second cam follower respectively connected with saidfirst cam and with said second cam for actuation thereby, a pair of pitgripping elements, means supporting one element of said pair formovement in a path of travel toward and away from the other element ofsaid pair into and out of pit gripping relation to a pit adapted to bepositioned between said pair, means supporting the other element of saidpair for back and forth movement in a path extending generally angularlyrelative to the path of movement of said one pitting gripping elementbetween a position in which such pit will be gripped between theelements of said pair when said one element is nearest said otherelement in its movement and a position olset to one side of said oneelement, means connecting' said first cam follower with said one elementfor actuating said one element and means connecting said second camfollower with said other element for actuation of said other element,said rst cam being adapted to move said first cam follower for actuatingsaid one element and said second cam being adapted to move said secondcam follower for actuating said other element for moving said otherelement to a position olfset to one side ofthe path of said one elementwhen said one element is moved away from said other element, and meansadjacent to said path of said other element stationary relative to thelatter and in a position for engaging a pit that may adhere to saidother element and be carried therewith for dislodging such pit.

4. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit gripping means having spaced,opposed, pit gripping edges between which the pit within a drupe isadapted to be positioned for gripping thereby, pit engaging meansdisposed in a plane common to said edges and adjacent to the latter in aposition for being engaged by such pit when the latter is between saidedges for being gripped thereby, supporting means supporting said pitgripping means for movement of one of said pit gripping means toward andaway from the other and supporting said pit engaging means in its saidposition during such movement, actuating means connected with said oneof said pit gripping means for causing said movement thereof wherebysaid pit will be gripped between said edges when said one of said pitgripping means is moved toward the other and will be released uponopposite movement of said one pit gripping means, means supporting saidpit engaging means and one of said pit gripping means for movement ofone relative to the other in a direction for causing said pit to bemoved relative to said pit gripping means when said pit is released fromgripping relation with said gripping edges, and means for causing saidlast mentioned movement.

...5. In a drupe pitter; a pair of pit gripping means havin' spaced,opposed, pit gripping edges between which the t 6 pit within a drupe isadapted to be *positioned for griplping thereby, tpitrenga'ging'fmeansdisposed-"inf-afplane `:position for lbeingfengag'ed'by lpievi/'hen thel'tter is fbetween :said edgesfor beingV- grippedy thereby;` supporting1 means i supportingtsaidspitigripping:u means` for fmovement -of oneI'of said-bpittgripping; means:toward-vandaawayfrom t the otherr' andsupporting said gpitcengaging 1 means iniits saidz position during-suchmovem'enL--actuating means con- --nected with said-f oneof said pitigripping:` means for causing said movement thereof whereby said pit willbe gripped between said edges when said one of said pit gripping meansis moved toward the other and will be released upon opposite movement ofsaid one pit gripping means, means supporting said pit engaging meansand one of said pit gripping means for movement of one relative to theother in la direction for causing said pit to be moved relative to saidpit gripping means when said pit -is released from gripping relationwith said gripping edges, and means for causing said last mentionedmovement, said supporting means supporting said pit gripping means formovement of one relative to the other in a generally vertical direction,and the means supporting one of said pit gripping means and said pitengaging means being arranged and adapted for supporting them formovement of one relative to the other in a direction transversely tovertical.

6. In a drupe pitter, a pair of vertically spaced pit gripping bladesdisposed one above the other in a vertical plane and supported formovement of one blade of said pair toward Iand away from the other forgripping the pit within a drupe between said blades upon said movementof one toward the other, a pit engaging blade coplanar with said pitgripping blades having a laterally facing pit engaging edge at one ofthe corresponding ends of said pair of edges directed toward the spacebetween said pair for engagement with the pit to be gripped between saidpair of edges, means supporting one of the blades of said pair and saidpit engaging blade for movement of one relative to the other in saidplane and along the pit gripping edge of said one of the blades of saidpair, means for effecting said last mentioned relative movement onlywhen said one blade of said pair is moved away from the other bladewhereby the pit between said pair of blades will be free for removal andwill be dislodged from engagement with said one of the blades of saidpair.

7. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit -gripping means disposed one abovethe other and having vertically spaced opposed pit gripping edgespositioned in a vertical plane and between which the pit within a drupeis adapted to be positioned for gripping thereby upon movement of onemeans of said pair toward the other, a support supporting said one meansfor vertical movement toward and away from the other, a pair ofhorizontally spaced opposed members at opposite sides of said plane andat one of the ends of the pit gripping edge of the lower of said pitgripping means, said lower of said pit gripping means including its saidpit gripping edge being supported for lateral movement into the spacebetween said members, means connected with said lower of said pitgripping means for so moving the latter and said members beingrelatively close to said vertical plane whereby a drupe carried by saidlower pit gripping means will be knocked from the latter upon its saidlateral movement.

8. In a drupe pitter, a pair of pit gripping means disposed one abovethe other and having vertically spaced opposed pit gripping edgespositioned in a vertical plane and between which the pit within a drupeis adapted to be positioned for gripping thereby upon movement of onemeans of said pair toward the other, a support supporting said one meansfor vertical movement toward and away from the other, a pair ofhorizont-ally spaced opposed members at opposite sides of said plane andat one of the ends of the pit gripping edge of the lower of said,

pit gripping means, said lower of said pit gripping means jectingtherefrom toward the space between said pit including its said pitgripping edge being supported for gripping edges for engagement WiththePt adapted t0 lateral movement into the space between said members,be POSOnedPeWeen Said PgfPPng edges, and means means connected with saidlower of said pit gripping means for S0 SuPPefUng Sad P115 engaglngmeansfor so moving the latter and said members being rela- 5 tivelyclose to said vertical plane whereby a drupe car- References Cited m theme of thls patent ried by said lower pit gripping means will be knockedUNITED STATES PATENTS from the latter upon its said lateral movement,pit en- 1,424,436 Barber Aug. 1,1922

gaging means supported between said members and pro- 2,664,127 PerrelliDec. 29, 1953

